theNewsWorthy: Tuesday, February 12th, 2019

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All the news stories mentioned in today's episode are listed with links below, so you can spend as much -- or as little -- time as you want perusing the latest happenings...

Border Security Deal?: House and Senate negotiators from both parties reached an agreement "in principle" last night that could prevent another government shutdown. The framework provides nearly $1.4 billion to be used on 55 miles of fencing at the U.S.-Mexico border and will fund the government through September. It's much less than the $5.7 billion President Trump has demanded. The details are still being worked out. Remember: both the House and Senate have to pass these spending bills and President Trump must sign-off. Stay tuned if it gets done before Friday's deadline.Read more: Washington Post, WSJ, The Hill

Ilhan Omar Comments: Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota is apologizing after lawmakers from both sides of the aisle called her tweets anti-Semitic. Omar tweeted “it’s all about the Benjamins baby,” suggesting that American lawmakers who support Israel are motivated by money. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders issued a statement condemning Omar’s tweets, saying legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies is protected, but stereotyping is not okay. Republicans and the president also called her out. Omar has apologized for tweets like this before.Read more: NYT, WSJ

Virginia Scandals: Two women claim that Virginia’s Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax sexually assaulted them, but Fairfax says he will not step down. He denies the claims and says he deserves due process. Fellow Democrats pushed him to leave, but they've backed off the idea of impeachment as two other scandals continue. Governor Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring both admitted to wearing blackface in the 80s.Read more: WP, AP News, The Sandford Daily

Denver Teacher Strike: For the first time in 25 years, teachers from Denver Public Schools are on strike. The teachers want higher base pay and better funding. The district argues they do offer higher pay through a reward program that gives bonuses throughout the year. Schools are still open with substitute teachers while more than 2,000 teachers are on strike.Read more: USA Today, VOX

Tobacco Use Increase: Federal health officials are worried that years of progress getting teens to quit tobacco have been erased. A CDC survey found that 1.5 million more middle and high school students started using tobacco products in a year's time. Officials blame the spike on vaping products like e-cigarettes, and have already cracked down on popular brand Juul’s marketing. Read more: CNBC, Axios

Tax Refunds: Some people may be a bit disappointed by their tax refunds this year. After the first full year since Congress changed the tax code, the average refund for early filers is down eight percent so far compared to the year before. Employees who didn’t adjust the amount taken from their paychecks after the new tax law could see smaller refunds, while those who don’t have income withheld (like retirees and business owners) may actually see bigger refunds this year.Read more: CNN, IRS, USA Today, CNBC

Toys “R” Us Returns: Toys “R” Us may be making a comeback under a new name: Tru Kids. Toys “R” Us filed for bankruptcy in 2017. The new parent company is opening dozens of rebranded Tru Kids stores in Asia, India and Europe and wants to bring the brand to the U.S. in some form.Read more: Quartz, PRNewsWire, CBS News

Amazon + Eero: Amazon is set to buy Eero, a company that makes internet routers that are supposed to be easy and effective to use. Amazon says the routers will help users connect all of their smart home devices, including Amazon’s Alexa.Read more: CNBC, The Verge

LinkedIn Live: This week, you may start to see people going live on LinkedIn. The company has seen great results with regular video, and the live feature has been requested. For now, it’s in beta and only open to users who are invited. LinkedIn’s plan is to use the live feature to cover conferences, Q&A sessions and other big events like graduation or award ceremonies.Read more: TechCrunch

Most Sustainable Companies: Best Buy took the top spot in a list of the most sustainable large companies. Barron’s ranking of this year’s 100 Most Sustainable Companies looked at the top 1,000 largest companies and considered environmental, social and corporate factors to decide the top 100. Best Buy earned the title for things like helping customers recycle old appliances and electronics and allowing the Geek Squad to repair and maintain old devices.Read more: Barron’s, MarketWatch

Westminster Dog Show: The Westminster Dog Show is back for its 143rd year. Nearly 3,000 dogs are competing. The event started yesterday morning, but tonight between 7:30 and 11:00 p.m. EST is the Best In Show competition. You can catch the action on FOX Sports 1 starting at 8 a.m. EST or stream it online.Read more: Newsweek, CBS New York

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